September’s Featured Partner: F.O.C.U.S. (Friends of Children United Society)
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Our partners are amazing and every single one leaves us so impressed with how well they love on our community’s youth and families. This month, it is our honor to get to work with the F.O.C.U.S. (Friends of Children United Society) organization which has generously provided $2,000 worth of supplies for the operations of Coronado SAFE’s classroom programs, in-school support groups, and individual and family counseling sessions.

One of the classroom programs that will benefit greatly from the F.O.C.U.S. partnership is Coronado SAFE's Turtle Time Program, which will be taught to Pre-K students across the Coronado Unified School District as well as at Christ Church Day School and Sacred Heart.

Turtle Time is an evidence-based social-emotional curriculum based on a turtle named Tucker. He, like many of his classmates, has major impulse-control issues. When he gets mad, he is known to kick, yell, and even hit his classmates. That all changes though when Tucker learns to “think like a turtle” instead. He keeps his body and hands to himself and stays quiet while taking three deep, calming breaths. Then, he starts to consider ways he can improve the situation that upset him. And, with lots of practice, Tucker has better control over his emotions. Through activities and discussions that follow the story of Tucker’s experience managing emotions like excitement and anger, students learn self-management skills and understanding of what is appropriate behavior in school, at home, and in the community.

Many of the supplies provided by F.O.C.U.S. including paper plates, colored paper, and dice will be used to allow students to practice skills for coping and responding when situations in life don’t go their way. The plates will be transformed into spinners to remind each student of the steps to process and manage big emotions which include: retreating to their shell, utilizing breathing techniques, and thinking before reacting. Each student will receive a Turtle Time book to take home as a reminder of the Turtle that had difficulty dealing with big emotions who chose to use his shell to calm down rather than acting out.

F.O.C.U.S. is helping us at Coronado SAFE prove that counseling and support doesn't have to be a boring task. Learning to self-manage anxiety, depression, and unexpected transitions in life can be just as fun of an activity as it is a serious and important skill to master, especially thanks to the amazing supplies provided by the incredible F.O.C.U.S. group that will be used to fuel our approach to creative, impactful interventions.

F.O.C.U.S. (Friends of Children United Society) raises and distributes funds for the betterment of battered, abused, homeless, disabled, disadvantaged, and foster children in San Diego County. For those interested in learning more about FOCUS, individuals can visit their website at https://focus-sdkids.org.